


A Picture Will Last Longer

by HollowIsTheWorld



Series: There Was A Time When I Was Alone [2]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 17:45:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6668251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollowIsTheWorld/pseuds/HollowIsTheWorld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which the Lightwood-Bane family takes the dog for a walk, and Magnus won't stop taking pictures.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Picture Will Last Longer

**Author's Note:**

> A sequel of sorts to [Puppy Dog Eyes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6595918), but you don't really need to read that one first if you don't want to.

“ _Dad_ , I don’t _want_ to take another picture.”

The click of the camera told Alec exactly what Magnus thought of Max’s complaint. He smiled to himself and looked down at Rafe, who was walking beside him. “I don’t think your brother is appreciating the attention.”

Rafe looked over his shoulder at his dad and brother, then back up at Alec. “He says Dad takes too many pictures.”

“Too many, huh?”

“He _does_ ,” Max insisted, running to catch up to them. “He’s _always_ taking pictures. Can I walk Shiva now, Papa? Pretty please?”

“Max, we’ve told you, not until we’re sure he’s leash-trained.”

Max huffed with his typical five year old flair for the dramatic. Alec liked to tell Magnus he’d learned it from his dad. “Why is it taking so long?”

Alec heard the camera click again, followed by Magnus chuckling. “It hasn’t even been a month yet, Blueberry. Dogs take a long time to train.”

“But I want to walk him _now_ . And he’s behaving! See, he’s not pulling on Papa at _all_!”

Alec looked down at where Shiva was walking, a few feet out in front of him, frequently looking back at them as though to make sure they were still following. He _was_ behaving, Alec could admit. He usually did. Despite being a very _very_ young puppy, he was a good dog. But he was still a fairly _large_ dog, and growing larger by the day, while Max was five.

And not very good at holding on to the leash.

“And when we’re sure it’s going to stay that way, we’ll let you walk Shiva to your heart’s content,” Magnus said diplomatically.

Max crossed his arms and pouted, but the effect was lost when he almost immediately had to uncross his arms to run and catch up with them again. With all the time Max spent falling behind and catching up again, Alec was fairly certain he got more exercise on their walks than Shiva did.

Magnus snapped another picture as Max caught up, and the boy scowled. “Dad, why do you keep taking pictures of me? You know what I look like.”

“I’m recording how fast your horns are growing,” Magnus said flippantly. “And it’s not just you. I take pictures of Rafe too.” He held up the camera, Rafe flashed him a grin, and he snapped a picture. “See? He even poses.”

Max rolled his eyes. Not for the first time, Alec chuckled to himself at the thought of what Max was going to be like when he hit puberty. Alec was fully expecting to go through several years of Max being mortally embarrassed at the very existence of his fathers.

Alec was looking forward to it. It sounded fun.

They stopped in the park for ice cream. The four of them sat down on a bench, Magnus on one side of Alec with his arm around his shoulders, the boys on the other side, Shiva tugging at his leash anytime a stranger walked close enough for it to be plausible that they wanted to pet him.

“ _Now_ he’s pulling,” Rafe told Max, pointing.

Max glared at him, and Alec had to resist the urge to laugh at his son’s attempt to look intimidating with strawberry ice cream smudged on his blue nose. Not that anyone else could tell he was blue, of course; Magnus had a glamour over him that hid both his color and his horns from anyone without the Sight. Magnus took another picture.

Once he’d felt Magnus put his camera back down, Alec shifted so he was leaning lightly against him, tugging on Shiva’s leash when he tried to go greet a couple that had made the mistake of looking over at him.

“I knew there was a reason I’m a cat person,” he murmured, too low for either of the boys to hear him.

He heard Magnus chuckle softly. “Really? Even after the Chairman made off with another pair of your socks this morning?”

“At least cats  _know_ they’re assholes. I can respect that.”

Magnus flicked his ear. “Quit swearing around the kids.”

“What? They can’t hear me. See, look, they’re not even paying attention to us.” It was true, Max and Rafe were currently engaged in a discussion about what tricks they wanted to teach Shiva next. Alec thought they were getting a bit ahead of themselves, since Shiva hadn't quite figured out 'sit' yet.

Magnus was not satisfied with that answer. “I don’t care. You’re going to teach them bad habits, stop it.”

“I was swearing pretty regularly by the time I was ten. Not where my parents could hear me, of course.”

“And that’s the legacy you want to pass down to our children?”

Alec, who couldn’t think of a defense but didn’t want to admit defeat, turned his head to kiss Magnus silent. Magnus smiled against his mouth.

“Don’t think that means you have my permission to corrupt our children, Alexander,” he whispered when they pulled apart. Alec gave him his best innocent smile, and Magnus rolled his eyes.

“ _Dads_ ,” Max groaned. “You’re being gross again.”

Rafe snickered.

Magnus reached out and ruffled Max’s hair, earning himself a scowl. “Don’t call your parents gross, Max, we control when you get dessert.”

“How about you, Rafe?” Alec asked. “Do you think we’re gross?”

Rafe shrugged, more interested in finishing off his ice cream than anything else. “Yeah. But Uncle Jace and Aunt Clary are _way_ worse. So it’s okay.”

Max made a disgusted face. “He writes her _love poems_ , Papa. I read one of them the last time we were at the Institute.”

“Love poems?” Alec asked, trying not to laugh at the idea of his _parabatai_ making attempts to write poetry.

“They’re really bad,” Rafe informed him.

Alec _did_ start laughing then, trying to imagine if Clary called Jace out on his abysmal poetry attempts or if she allowed them because they were entertaining. He was going to have to get his hands on one of these poems sometime.

“You’re quite the critic, Rafe,” Magnus said, and Alec could hear that he was trying not to laugh too. “Do you know much about love poetry?”

“I know when it’s _bad_.” Then, after a moment’s silence, “Do you ever write Papa love poetry, Dad?”

Alec snorted. “ _No_.”

From his current position Alec couldn’t see Magnus’ face, but he knew he was scowling. “Are you trying to say something about my poetry skills, darling?”

Alec grinned. “Tessa showed me one of your poem attempts. If you ever gave me one of those, I might have to divorce you.”

“Where did she even- What did I ever do to Tessa that she would do this to me?”

Alec shrugged. “Maybe she just likes me better.”

Magnus flicked his ear again.

Magnus was saved from further ridicule by a young girl shyly approaching them with a woman Alec assumed was her mother. Shiva started wagging his tail so enthusiastically that his whole body shook.

“Can I pet your dog?” the girl asked in a small voice.

Alec nodded. “He’s really excitable though, so he might jump.”

“Let him sniff your hand first, sweetie,” the woman told her.

The girl did so, and then started scratching Shiva behind the ears. He was so obviously excited now that Alec half expected him to just collapse to the ground.

Max, meanwhile, had seen an opportunity to show off his dog. “His name’s Shiva,” he announced proudly. “And he’s the best dog _ever_.”

The girl’s mother hid her mouth behind her hand, trying not to laugh at Max’s enthusiasm. “Of course he is.”

Max, who could not be stopped once he started talking, spent the next ten minutes telling the girl about how they’d gotten Shiva, and how he’d gotten his name, and what tricks they were going to teach him. Alec wasn’t sure when he was stopping to breathe. The girl, at least, seemed fascinated by everything he was saying.

When Max finally paused for a moment, she looked up at her mom. “See, Mommy? He’s my age, and _he_ has a dog.”

Alec gave the woman an apologetic smile, and nudged his husband in the ribs when he heard him start snickering. “Well, dogs are a big responsibility, you know,” he told the girl, trying to sound diplomatic. She didn’t seem impressed.

“I could do it,” she insisted. She pat Shiva on the head one more time, and then the two of them left.

“I hope she gets a dog,” Max said. He was sitting on the ground now, letting Shiva lick his face. It was taking care of the mess Max had made with his ice cream, at least. “I think she’d be a good dog owner.”

“You’ve only met her once,” Rafe said. “How do you know she’d be a good dog owner?”

Max shrugged. “I can just tell.”

Alec let out Shiva's leash a bit more, and let Max start throwing a tennis ball for him to chase. 

Magnus nudged Alec off his arm and started taking pictures again.

“ _Dad!_ ”

“You’ll thank me for this one day,” Magnus told him. When he pointed the camera towards Rafe the older boy beamed at him, waited for Magnus to lower the camera again, and then returned to the last of his ice cream.

“Will that day be before or after we show his baby pictures to any potential dates he brings over?” Alec muttered so Max wouldn’t hear.

“Oh, after. You can’t appreciate anything until you’ve been mortally embarrassed by it.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

Alec chuckled, stretched, and stood up. “Come on. I think it’s time to head home.”

Max leapt to his feet in a surprisingly graceful move. “Can I walk Shiva _now_?”

Shiva, as though to help Alec prove a point, chose that moment to nearly yank Alec’s arm out of the socket at the sight of another dog across the park. Alec reeled him back in and looked at Max.

Max frowned at Shiva as though the puppy had knowingly and purposefully betrayed him. “Guess not.”

Magnus laughed. “How much longer until his puppy classes start?”

Alec sighed. “Two and a half months. Believe me, I am counting the days.” Alec hadn’t realized how many vaccines dogs needed until Shiva wasn’t allowed to go to dog parks or training classes until he had them all.

“I bet he’ll be the smartest dog in the class,” Max said confidently.

“Of course he will,” Rafe agreed, and he reached out to pet Shiva’s head as they started walking.

Alec rolled his eyes fondly. As far as the boys were concerned, the dog could do no wrong. Magnus took another picture of the two of them, this one going unnoticed by them both. He smiled at the camera as he lowered it again.

“Good picture?”

Magnus nodded. “Several of them, actually. Have I thanked you for this recently?”

The camera had been an anniversary present. Alec had almost balked at the price - it was a _really_ nice camera - but Magnus had barely gone anywhere without it since, so it was more than worth it. Alec smiled. “Define recently. I don’t think you’ve brought it up since breakfast yesterday.”

“Far too long then.” He leaned over for a quick kiss. “It was a wonderful gift.”

Despite having been with Magnus for several years now, Alec still found himself blushing at the gratitude. “I’m glad.”

“One problem though,” Magnus continued.

“Yeah?”

“I haven’t gotten nearly enough pictures of _you_ today.”

“And whose fault is that?”

Magnus slowed to let Alec get a few feet away from him and raised the camera again. Shiva barked at Max, who was taunting him with the tennis ball. Alec laughed, and the camera clicked.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also over on [tumblr](hollowistheworld.tumblr.com), if you want to come talk to me.


End file.
